There is no question that the need to improve American students’ math scores has garnered much attention on a national level. U.S. Education officials have been pushing reform for years now. We simply aren’t going to be able to compete with our global competitors in knowledge-based fields if we continue to fall short in math and science. So what can we do?

Set high expectations

According to the College Readiness report by ACT, students who take the recommended core curriculum for high school including three years of math achieve higher ACT scores than those who don’t, regardless of socio-economic background, race and gender.¹

But expectations for students to take and succeed at high level math and science courses in high school must be balanced by preparing them well in early years to do just this.

Our expectations for students to succeed at high levels of math and science need to be rooted in deep learning early on and continued support throughout the years, rather than pushing high level curriculum down the pipeline to earlier grades.

Provide ample challenging opportunities

We need to help students learn to embrace challenge early on in their mathematical studies and develop critical thinking road maps for problem solving.

As a nation, continued PR and media campaigns promoting role models in math and science innovation can add to a shift in the mindset of young students. NOVA has a fantastic series called The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers that aims to inspire more youth to pursue STEM careers by profiling STEM professionals who lead less than ordinary lives.

Debunk the “I’m not good at math” myth

If we begin to teach math in a way that rewards students for their time and effort, rather than simply on a right or wrong answer, we can nurture a mindset where they aren’t afraid of a challenge and take the time to figure it out.

Part of the challenge lies in helping students see that their math skills are not fixed, and that with effort they can improve with the help of a consistent educator or mentor working along side a student, helping him or her build on previous skills, and witness growth in process.

Adopt practices that are getting great results

What seems to work the best is when students learn math in a logical, consistent manner, mastering number facts and arithmetic, while being given the opportunity, once such mastery is achieved to explore conceptual problems and more challenging abstract applications of mathematical concepts. To do this successfully requires teachers adept at teaching math in both of these modes.

If we improve the math education for teachers in training and reduce their anxiety toward math, they’ll be better prepared to help students develop math as a strength skill rather than a liability.

Last of all, a simple but strategic practice for improving student math performance is to teach students strategies for working with their math textbooks.

Make Use of Technology

From Khan Academy videos, to online tutorial programs, to flipped classrooms, technology can be leveraged today to improve students’ math performance

Promote Positive Attitudes for Students

An additional insight offered by the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center is that students from around the world do better in math if they maintain a positive attitude about the subject.²

Do you have any other strategies for improving math skills? Please share in the comments.  Stay tuned for more math themed blogs this week!

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^{1 “}Benefits of a High School Core Curriculum” College Readiness, 2006, ACT. http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/core_curriculum.pdf 

² “Parental Expectations and Academic Achievement” Julie Grossman, Megan Kun-McKearin, William Strein, 2011. http://www.education.umd.edu/Academics/Faculty/Bios/facData/CHSE/strein/ParentalExpectationsAndAcademicAchievement.pdf

The week before Thanksgiving, I attended the annual National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) conference for teachers of gifted and talented students along with 4,000 others. One of the opening sessions featured Dr. Howard Gardner, Dr. Joseph Renzulli, and Dr. Robert Sternberg, all intelligence experts from varying points of view. Sternberg, in particular, addressed the disconnect between what we are teaching in school and the needs of the world of work, where graduates are falling short.

You might think that the eight percent unemployment rate is a blatant indicator that there aren’t enough jobs in America, however, fixing today’s unemployment rate is not simply a matter of creating more jobs. In fact, there are three million available jobs today but not enough skilled workers to fill the positions.  One could argue that we are, in many ways, over-emphasizing tests and analytical intelligence in school and through the super-programmed structure of many students’ out-of-school life.  These “structures” and emphases come at the expense of balancing the soft skills—or emotional intelligence—students and graduates need to succeed.   The time others spent in previous generations exploring and observing in unstructured time is now taken up by club activities and for those who aren’t involved, endless hours on the internet or games. While these out of school pursuits have their place, is there a way to strike some balance between the doing and the being?  Between the structured and the unstructured that can build transferable skills in our students?

Robert Sternberg, long the pioneer and advocate for more inclusive ways of seeing intelligence, ability, and talent, developed the theory of “successful intelligence.”  To do well in the world, Sternberg argues, you need analytical, creative, and practical intelligence. School fosters analytical intelligence, but the world is demanding that our students aquire more than just knowledge.  The global world and our new economy requires students who can apply that knowledge to accomplish things in the world, in their professional and in their personal lives.  Without the problem-solving  skills and creativity to imagine the need for a new company, discover a different path for fighting a disease,  invent the new direction for a forty-year-old company to grow and prosper, positively dispute an unanswered insurance claim, and negotiate common and divergent life goals with a partner, graduates may not only lose out on a job commensurate with their skills, they may also suffer unnecessary depression, regret and hopelessness.

Experience not only teaches students; it makes them strong enough to take on increasingly complex life challenges. In addition to fostering analytical skills, let’s encourage students in high school and college to risk, to experience, to do something unique,  to have discussions with those who differ from them, to live in a different city from where they grew up, to expand, and to explore.  These qualities will teach them who they are, teach them wherewithal that cannot be learned in class, and show them the capacity that they have to contribute in the world in all areas of their lives.

This is a tall order for Generation Y as they struggle to begin their careers and make room for themselves in an increasingly competitive world. In order to repair the economy, the next generation will need the skills to work as part of a global workforce, the education to take on the hard problems and solve them in new and innovative ways, and the networking skills to find opportunities wherever they may be. Many middle class workers may not see a bright future ahead for their children, as the Pew study cited above indicates, but today’s youth do. A Gallup study cited in Education Week by Liana Heitin states that about half of students today have hope in the future; they “believe the future will be better than the present, and that they have the power to make it so.” These students aren’t middle-class workers yet, but they have the same ideals of hard work and perseverance that their parents do. And once they’re prepared with the necessary skills, they’ll be ready to build a better future for all of us.

When employees don’t feel like their abilities are being used to their full potential, work is “frustrating” and “exhausting,” according to a study that asked subordinates to rate the percentage of their intelligence they felt their higher-ups were tapping into. These questions lead to researchers defining two types of leaders in the workplace:

1. “Diminishers”: A leader who is set on their own ideas and doesn’t use the intelligence from their staff to expand on ideas.
2. “Multipliers”: A leader who uses and amplifies the intelligence around them.

In her article, “Smart Leaders Get More Out of the Employees They Have,” Liz Wiseman explains leaders identified as “diminishers” were rated as only using 48% of an employee’s intellectual capability. “Multipliers” were reported as using 95% of their intellectual capability. Data from this study, along with additional research after publication, found employers are only using 66% of their employees’ capability.

“[Companies] spend their time and money ‘grocery shopping’ for talent,” says Wiseman, “when they can simply look inside the already well-stocked refrigerator.”

Leader is a verb not a noun. An effective leader is one who can stand at the helm, while also taking full advantage of the crew’s individual talents. However, employees also have the responsibility to show their strengths to their employers and vocalize that they have unused talents.

Recently, in his article “Youth Unemployment: Is It the Bad Economy or Inability to Overcome Adversity,” Don McNay poses a relationship between today’s high youth unemployment rate and the lack of ambition and tenacity he’s seen firsthand from youth. He tells the story of one young person he knows who looked for a job for several months, then without any offers, gave up and started working in fast food. Another young person he knows seems to be waiting at his mom’s house for someone to come by with a job offer.

McNay reminisces about  leaving grad school and working for a candidate in Congress directly out of school. However, the candidate lost and McNay was on the street. His next job was on the cleanup crew at the Kentucky Horse Park. The experience showed him he needed more stability and to be his own boss, and illuminated his ample supply of tenacity and ambition. “If young people have been sheltered from overcoming failure, they may not understand that adversity ultimately leads to opportunity,” he says.

Yes, the unemployment rates are real and they are tragic. But progress takes action. Employers can work with the employees they have and employees can show their employers they are underused. If employees or employers feel stuck with what they have, they need to take action. Become the verb and not the noun.

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Sources:

“Smart Leaders Get More Out of the Employees They Have,” by Liz Wiseman. 20 August 2012. Harvard Business Review. Accessed on 22 August 2012. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/smart_leaders_get_more_out_of.html

“Youth Unemployment: Is It the Bad Economy or Inability to Overcome Adversity?” by Don McNay. 18 August 2012. The Huffington Post. Accessed on 22 August 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-mcnay/youth-unemployment_b_1803153.html

In past cycles of the U.S. economy, a college degree — or even a high school diploma — could be enough for a job seeker to land a well-paying position that afforded them staples of an American lifestyle, such as home and car ownership, leaving home as a teen or young adult, and starting a family. In the new economy, with high unemployment rates for teens and adults, neither a college degree or high school diploma comes with a job guarantee, and many young adults are reacting by living with their parents longer, delaying marriage and child birth and indefinitely postponing large purchases. ¹

Part of the dissatisfaction in the job market for new graduates and young professionals is not that they are unemployed, but that they are underemployed. An underemployed professional is described as someone who makes a living doing something that requires lower-skill levels and does not require their degree. In an economy where the underemployed are considered the fortunate ones to some, many keep their jobs to pay the bills and supplement their work with something more fulfilling, like a part-time job, volunteering, internships, a hobby, or starting their own business. The new professional who finds him or herself underemployed may find comfort in having a job, but they must take chances, find their grit, and search for (or create) employment opportunities that will keep them engaged in the professional world they hope to join and ultimately, improve.

Through working with young professionals, I hear stories of new grads and professionals who are moving above being underemployed by taking a leap of faith. Kenny is a new graduate who graduated with a degree in English. He started working at Whole Foods in college, and continued working there after graduation. A regular patron knew Kenny was a writer and told him she knew a nonprofit that was looking for a copywriter for their newsletter and website. He called the nonprofit and got his first professional writing job, where he got experience setting a freelance wage, working with clients, and meeting deadlines outside of school.  He was open, receptive and failed to be a “victim” bemoaning his current status.  That outlook is attractive and positively impressed this patron who is opening all kinds of doors for Kenny.

Izzy, a graduate of a prestigious women’s college, works at a coffee shop for six months out of the year to save money to travel to Nepal, where for the remaining six months she lives with a local family and volunteers at an orphanage. Her ten year goal is to start her own organization in Nepal that would allow her to spend more of her time at the orphanage, and less time at the coffee shop. By living with her parents the six months out the year she is in the U.S., she is able to save money off her barista wages for her flight to Nepal, as well as bring suitcases of needed supplies to her kids.  She is purposeful in her choices and focused on her long term goals.

Alice is a college senior who recently quit her well-paying supervisor job at a grocery store for a lower-paying job at a non-profit organization that better aligned with her career goals in political science. As a new hire, she worked odd hours canvassing neighborhoods, which was not her ideal job, but one that she hoped would help her get her foot in the door of the organization. After a few months, the position for her dream job opened, which came with a salary and an office. Alice went for it, and against dozens of applicants in the organizations, landed her first professional job.  She was convinced that her willingness to step in to her passion, even for lower pay, would ultimately pay off and it did.

The job market can be difficult for many of today’s young adults, but those who are resourceful, driven, have vision, and fight for a position in the new economy will find their hard work pays off.  Have a teflon attitude about your gifts, talents and passions and you will forge your own rewarding, sustainable path.

Thirty years ago this summer, I was finishing my first unpaid internship in Washington, D.C with Common Cause, a lobbying  group run at the time by Archibald Cox, John Gardner of Stanford, and, at times, Ralph Nader. The next year, the report,  A NATION AT RISK¹, was issued as I began my internship in New York City at the Academy for Educational Development. During both summers, I waited on tables at night to be able to work for no pay at my valuable internships. This report was commissioned by the then President Ronald Reagan. I distinctly remember one of the most defining lines of that document:  The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.

In 1984, I graduated into one of the worst job markets since that the one we are experiencing today.  Little did I know then that almost thirty years later, I would look back on a career in education which has, in the last decade specifically, become devoted to reversing America’s underdeveloped, undereducated and underemployed.

Fast forward almost thirty years beyond the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND legislation, the largesse of people like Bill and Melinda Gates and the global picture of students around the world compared with the students learning here in the United States. Students who were born in and around that time now make up some of the college graduates who are in their twenties during one of the most difficult recessions for young adults. According to this week’s New York Times², youth advocacy groups designed to galvanize the efforts of graduates, in a more effective way than the Occupy Movement, are emerging. These graduates are required to be resourceful about creating their future work, facilitating networks where they can help each other, and developing a strong psychological personal outlook which will help them endure any economic turbulence.

When I wrote my first book, now in its fifth edition, MAJORING IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE:  Career Secrets for College Students, I explored all of the workplace realities which few people bothered to share with undergraduates so that they could actually prepare for success once they earned their degree and landed their first job. The keys to the hidden job market are now as they were in the mid to late 1980s –a willingness from mentors and managers whom students have met on internships to pick up the phone, write a specific letter (or email)  or set up a meeting for a former intern who has demonstrated not just what they know, but what they know how to do; a college student who is willing to forego partying during the week to dig earnestly and wholly into their academics through facilitating a study group, reaching out to the professor or clarifying subject matter with a teaching assistant; a freshman who starts college by spending his summer truly learning what is ahead and preparing fully for a successful transition, including honestly evaluating his own strengths and weaknesses. Students with this kind of foresight can navigate the hidden job market as well as the transparent one.  They know how to tirelessly pursue opportunities and they know how to add real value once they are given the chance to show both their knowledge and their skills. These are the graduates who will not just get a job this season after they graduate. Indeed, they will be forging a promotion path no matter where their gifts and talents take them.

In the coming days, I will explore initiatives we’ve tried and the academic performance, graduation rates and graduation prospects compared with our past, as well as developing and developed nations around the world.

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^1 “A Nation at Risk,” by the National Commission on Excellence in Education.” April 1983. http://reagan.procon.org/sourcefiles/a-nation-at-risk-reagan-april-1983.pdf

^2 “Jobs Few, Grads Flock to Unpaid Internships,” by Steven Greenhouse. 6 May 2012. The New York Times. Accessed on 7 May 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/business/unpaid-internships-dont-always-deliver.html

Graduates in 2012 will be entering an economy with more debt and less job opportunities than they would have 20 or even 10 years ago.  The last recession of this proportion was actually in 1984, the year I graduated from college.

But the surprise isn’t only on the new graduates. Employers are gaining new hires who have spent some of their most formidable years in a bad economy and who have responded with either apathy or a zeal to overcome obstacles in the professional world. For both kinds of young adults, and those in between, they will be up against some challenges that, although sometimes grim, are the reality of our current economy. Instead of  being the apathetic new hire or job seeker, I encourage you to take on the following challenges with the mindset that you will keep moving forward until you can overcome.

Challenge: There aren’t enough jobs to employ teens and new grads.

There are 75 million people ages 15 to 24 who are currently looking for work around the world. You are not alone in your struggle, and that may require you to be more creative and open when looking for a job. Some new graduates are moving to Asian nations in an effort to get their career started, according to the article “‘Made’ in China: The Millenials Look East for Jobs.”¹Â As population growth in China slows and the number of elderly people increases, more European and American citizens are moving East and taking advantage of the softening migration rules.

Many new graduates are also choosing to create jobs of their own². With the boom in startups and a national call for more innovation, new graduates with an entrepreneurial spirit are encouraged to go back to small business models and use their digital expertise to find their place in the new economy.

Challenge: Many teens and young adults don’t have the skills to land and keep a job. 

More than half of American teens are unemployed, which brings many more long-term concerns than it does for concerns over teen wallets. The scarcity of teen jobs implies that a large portion of teens will go through their high school and college years without having any real-world experience that is critical for learning how to navigate the world of work after college. Young adults will have to have experiential learning opportunities to learn these skills, and many are forced to push this basic learning until after college.

In her article “Too Busy for a Summer Job? Why America’s Youth Lacks Basic Work Skills,” Erika Christakis points out a paradox that today’s young adults are living: “Despite unprecedented technological and cultural sophistication, this generation’s 20-year-olds lack some of the ‘soft’ skills that are necessary to move up the professional ladder: perseverance, humility, flexibility and commitment.”^3 Be willing to take on experiences that could propose a learning opportunity, even if they aren’t ideal. Any job is better than no job when it comes developing transferable skills you need to land a more ideal and better paying job in the future.

Challenge: Many new grads enter the working world are buried in debt. 

Recently, the U.S. student-loan debt reached $1 trillion, surpassing credit card debt.^4 Many students went into their college careers willingly taking on decades worth of debt, believing there would be a job waiting for them after graduation. For many, the jobs aren’t there and for many there are jobs, but not ones that pay a high enough salary to put a dent in their monthly loan payments.

As a result of high student loan debt, a report by Pew Research Center suggests more young adults are postponing marriage, having children, and buying assets, like cars and homes.^5 Is it going to take longer to get to your career goals than you had planned freshman year? Reassess your career path and take it one step at a time.

Employment opportunities are scarce, but available; learning opportunities are abundant, but need to be taken advantage of; and debt cripples many dreams of buying homes, starting families, or pursuing higher education, but there is still hope. There may be challenges ahead, but with preparation, they can be less of a surprise.

To frame this situation in context, the brave men and women who survived World War II came back to the United States with pennies to their name.  They built much of our modern economy by starting in the mailroom, cleaning toilets, and working at more than one job.  What these industrious people learned is, in the words of James Allen:  The situation doesn’t make the man, it reveals him to himself.  In other words, difficult times show us who we are.  No matter who you are, no matter what your situation, this is your opportunity to shine. Adelante!

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Sources:

¹“‘Made’ in China: The Millenials Look East for Jobs,” by Courtney Subramanian. 30 April 2012. Time. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/30/made-in-china-the-millennials-look-east-for-jobs/

²“Why New Graduates Should Consider Entrepreneurship,” by Alexis Grant. 12 May 2012. US News. http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2011/07/12/why-new-graduates-should-consider-entrepreneurship

³“Too Busy for a Summer Job? Why America’s Youth Lacks Basic Work Skills,” by Erika Christakis. 1 May 2012. Time. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://ideas.time.com/2012/05/01/too-busy-for-a-summer-job-why-americas-youth-lacks-basic-worth-skills/

⁴“Student-Loan Debt Reaches Record $1 Trillion, Report Says,” 22 March 2012. Bloomberg. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-22/student-loan-debt-reaches-record-1-trillion-u-s-report-says.html

⁵“US Jobs Gap Between Young and Old Is Widest Ever,” by Hope Yen 9 February 2012. The Oakland Press. Accessed on 1 May 2012. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/02/09/news/doc4f33c9b707386347710719.txt

In a competitive global market the soon-to-be college graduate and new professional needs to know their unique talents and abilities in order to stand out from the crowd. Our economy is recovering slowly; a shift in our schools  and colleges can set new expectations to better prepare graduates for workforce realities. Many K-12 schools, whether out of choice or necessity, still teach to standardized tests and curriculums. However, the new professional is anything but standardized. The new professional is self-aware, stands out because of their ability to develop unique strengths, can connect their education to their career, is fully integrated into traditional and digital communication, and understands how to use personal discipline for professional advantage. If there isn’t enough time to emphasize this model in class, teachers can emphasize the importance of this exposure out of class.

If the institutions don’t have the money, time, perspective, or know-how to teach to students unique strengths, students often miss learning the skills they need to thrive in the real-world.  When teachers and parents don’t make specific opportunities available for students to apply their academic skills to real-life job prospects, young minds struggle to make those connections which employers deem imperative. Small change can make a big impact, whether it’s one teacher making a difference in his class, one initiative helping kids work on their skills after school, or parents creating a supportive culture at home. Below are some small ways educators, professionals, and parents can help find and develop students’ gifts and talents to prepare them for success in school and their career.

Robinson believes the waste of talent we see in our schools is not “deliberate”, but rather “systematic”. There will be an education revolution, as Robinson calls it, but how long can you wait for change? If your school curriculum doesn’t offer enough creative outlets, how can you make one change in your lesson that uses students’ critical thinking skills instead of memorization? If you’re a parent, what is one activity, whether a physical one, a video game, board game, etc. that develops critical and creative thinking skills you could encourage kids to play at home?

Create opportunities for students to practice professional skills and find professional role models. For many students, there can be a disconnect between what they’re learning in school and how that knowledge applies to the real world. Many students ask, “Why are we learning this?” and parents and educators don’t always have a better response than “because I said so” – or some variation. Share the true purpose of the learning and connect the value of each idea to career and personal life.

How are you helping students draw the connection between school and life? Would you be willing to coordinate positive role models to come speak to your students? Consider the impact of bringing in a real-life role model to a class that is tapped into the unreal behaviors of many of today’s celebrities. It’s the responsibility of parents, educators, students, and the community to create a stable tomorrow.  Our energy and our imagination can transform current difficulties and frustrations into  a new, vibrant and energizing learning environment.

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Sources:

¹Â “How Schools Stifle Creativity,” By Sir Ken Robinson. _{http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/03/robinson.schools.stifle.creativity/index.html}

²“How One Principal Recruited Role Models to Motivate His Black Male Students,” by Baruti Kafele. 14 April 2012. Good. Accessed on 20 April 2012. http://www.good.is/post/how-one-principal-recruited-role-models-to-motivate-his-black-male-students/

Dropping out of high school doesn’t only effect the individual. While students who drop out of high school will personally have less chances of employment, make lower incomes, and are most likely just a piece in the poverty cycle, they also represent a huge drain on our economic potential. On a larger scale, high school graduates and dropouts shape our economy, define the abilities of our workforce, and set the stage for our leaders of the future in business, industry, and government.

Even though “bridging the gap” has become a familiar phrase in education reform, the attention alone won’t  solve anything: we need action. Decades of research strongly suggests that the most effective education reform starts when kids are in preschool, where they are fed and taught in small groups, get home visits by teachers and have meetings with parents, and have teachers who make higher salaries, according to the article.

Our future depends on not only more graduates, but more successful graduates who are ready to succeed in the world of work and their lives as a whole. Starting early, staying consistent, and holding the bar high as students progress will provide a society with the brain potential, talent, and follow through to negotiate and leverage the global challenges that lie ahead.